U.S. patent application number 12/342121 was filed with the patent office on 2010-06-24 for method and apparatus for automatically determining stopover airports for flight planning.
This patent application is currently assigned to ARINC INCORPORATED. Invention is credited to Steven D. CORFMAN.
Application Number | 20100161153 12/342121 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42267268 |
Filed Date | 2010-06-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100161153 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CORFMAN; Steven D. |
June 24, 2010 |
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY DETERMINING STOPOVER
AIRPORTS FOR FLIGHT PLANNING
Abstract
A method and apparatus that automatically selects one or more
stopover airports (or "technical stops") for flight planning is
disclosed. The method may include receiving flight origin,
destination, aircraft identification information, aircrew
identification information, passenger identification information,
and user preference information from a user, receiving weather,
safety-of flight and meteorological information based on at least
the received origin and destination information, retrieving
aircraft information, origin and destination airport information,
potential stopover airport information, aircrew information, and
passenger information from one or more databases based on at least
one of the received flight origin, destination, aircraft
identification information, aircrew information, passenger
information, and user preference information, automatically
selecting one or more stopover airports based on the received
weather, safety-of flight and meteorological information and the
retrieved flight origin, destination, aircraft information, aircrew
information, passenger information, and user preference
information, and outputting the selected one or more stopover
airports to the user.
Inventors: |
CORFMAN; Steven D.; (Severna
Park, MD) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PRASS LLP
2661 Riva Road, Bldg. 1000, Suite 1044
ANNAPOLIS
MD
21401
US
|
Assignee: |
ARINC INCORPORATED
Annapolis
MD
|
Family ID: |
42267268 |
Appl. No.: |
12/342121 |
Filed: |
December 23, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
701/3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01C 23/005 20130101;
G08G 5/0034 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
701/3 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/00 20060101
G06F017/00 |
Claims
1. A method for automatically selecting one or more stopover
airports for flight planning, comprising: receiving flight origin,
destination, aircraft identification information, aircrew
identification information, passenger identification information,
and user preference information from a user; receiving weather,
safety-of flight and meteorological information based on at least
the received origin and destination information; retrieving
aircraft information, origin and destination airport information,
potential stopover airport information, aircrew information, and
passenger information from one or more databases based on at least
one of the received flight origin, destination, aircraft
information, aircrew information, passenger information, and user
preference information; automatically selecting one or more
stopover airports based on the received weather, safety-of flight
and meteorological information and the retrieved flight origin,
destination, aircraft identification information, aircrew
information, passenger information, and user preference
information; and outputting the selected one or more stopover
airports to the user.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prompting the user to
confirm the selection of the one or more of the selected stopover
airports; and receiving the user's confirmation of the one or more
selected stopover airports, otherwise selecting another one or more
stopover airport.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: ranking one or more
of the selected stopover airports in a list based on the received
weather, safety-of flight and meteorological information and the
retrieved flight origin, destination, aircraft identification
information, aircrew information, passenger information, and user
preference information; presenting the ranked list to the user;
prompting the user to select one or more stopover airports from the
presented list; receiving the user's selection of the one or more
selected stopover airports from the presented list; and outputting
a flight plan that includes the user's selected one or more
selected stopover airports.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein user preferences include at least
one of avoid turbulence, fly over a particular point of interest,
avoid certain altitudes, fly at maximum range, fly at maximum fuel
economy, fly to achieve fastest time, and minimize airport
fees.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the metrological information
includes at least one of winds aloft, radar, lightning reports,
clear air turbulence reports, SIGMETs, AIRMETs, and wind shear
reports.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the safety-of-flight information
includes at least one-of aviation-related documents, aircraft
performance data, navigation data, restricted areas, and
NOTAMs.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein aircraft information includes at
least one of aircraft range, aircraft equipment, aircraft
capability, navigational capabilities, aircraft certification for
operation in various enroute and terminal environments, country of
manufacture, and country of registry.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein aircrew information includes at
least one of licensing, certification, political documentation, and
criminal record information.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein passenger information includes at
least one of political documentation, passport information, and
criminal record information.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein potential stopover airport
information includes at least one of available fuel, crash and
rescue equipment, runway and apron characteristics, weather and
weather reporting, navigational approaches and departures, landing
and departure fees, customs and immigration, number and type of
ground handling agents, physical location, services available at
time of arrival and departure, parking space, area amenities, and
currency exchange rates.
11. A stopover planning unit that automatically selects one or more
stopover airports for flight planning, comprising: a communication
interface; and a stopover planning module that receives flight
origin, destination, aircraft identification information, aircrew
identification information, passenger identification information,
and user preference information from a user, receives weather,
safety-of flight and meteorological information based on at least
the received origin and destination information through the
communication interface, retrieves aircraft information, origin and
destination airport information, potential stopover airport
information, aircrew information, and passenger information from
one or more databases based on at least one of the received flight
origin, destination, aircraft identification information, aircrew
information, passenger information, and user preference
information, automatically selects one or more stopover airports
based on the received weather, safety-of flight and meteorological
information and the retrieved flight origin, destination, aircraft
information, aircrew information, passenger information, and user
preference information, and outputs the selected one or more
stopover airports to the user.
12. The stopover planning unit of claim 11, wherein the stopover
planning module prompts the user to confirm the selection of the
one or more of the selected stopover airports, and receives the
user's confirmation of the one or more selected stopover airports,
otherwise the stopover planning module selects another one or more
stopover airport.
13. The stopover planning unit of claim 11, wherein the stopover
planning module ranks one or more of the selected stopover airports
in a list based on the received weather, safety-of flight and
meteorological information and the retrieved flight origin,
destination, aircraft identification information, aircrew
information, passenger information, and user preference
information, presents the ranked list to the user, prompts the user
to select one or more stopover airports from the presented list,
receives the user's selection of the one or more selected stopover
airports from the presented list, and outputs a flight plan that
includes the user's selected one or more selected stopover
airports.
14. The stopover planning unit of claim 11, wherein user
preferences includes at least one of avoid turbulence, fly over a
particular point of interest, avoid certain altitudes, fly at
maximum range, fly at maximum fuel economy, fly to achieve fastest
time, and minimize airport fees.
15. The stopover planning unit of claim 11, wherein the
metrological information includes at least one of winds aloft,
radar, lightning reports, clear air turbulence reports, SIGMETs,
AIRMETs, and wind shear reports.
16. The stopover planning unit of claim 11, wherein the
safety-of-flight information includes at least one-of
aviation-related documents, aircraft performance data, navigation
data, restricted areas, and NOTAMs.
17. The stopover planning unit of claim 11, wherein aircraft
information includes at least one of aircraft range, aircraft
equipment, aircraft capability, navigational capabilities, and
aircraft certification for operation in various enroute and
terminal environments, country of manufacture, and country of
registry.
18. The stopover planning unit of claim 11, wherein aircrew
information includes at least one of licensing, certification,
political documentation, and criminal record information.
19. The stopover planning unit of claim 11, wherein passenger
information includes at least one of political documentation,
passport information, and criminal record information.
20. The stopover planning unit of claim 11, wherein potential
stopover airport information includes at least one of available
fuel, crash and rescue equipment, runway and apron characteristics,
weather and weather reporting, navigational approaches and
departures, landing and departure fees, customs and immigration,
number and type of ground handling agents, physical location,
services available at time of arrival and departure, parking space,
area amenities, and currency exchange rates.
21. A computer-readable medium storing instructions for
automatically selecting one or more stopover airports for flight
planning, the instructions comprising: receiving flight origin,
destination, aircraft identification information, aircrew
identification information, passenger identification information,
and user preference information from a user; receiving weather,
safety-of flight and meteorological information based on at least
the received origin and destination information; retrieving
aircraft information, origin and destination airport information,
potential stopover airport information, aircrew information, and
passenger information from one or more databases based on at least
one of the received flight origin, destination, aircraft
identification information, aircrew information, passenger
information, and user preference information; automatically
selecting one or more stopover airports based on the received
weather, safety-of flight and meteorological information and the
retrieved flight origin, destination, aircraft information, aircrew
information, passenger information, and user preference
information; and outputting the one or more stopover airports to
the user.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0001] 1. Field of the Disclosure
[0002] The disclosure relates to aircraft flight planning.
[0003] 2. Introduction
[0004] A flight planning system is defined as a tool that will
provide information about a specific flight to a pilot and other
responsible or relevant parties. The primary output of any flight
plan is the route-of-flight (using Highways in the Sky, for
example), the time it will take to make the flight, and the fuel
required to make the trip. The flight plan may include the actual
amount of fuel to be consumed, plus the taxi fuel and any extra or
reserve fuel.
[0005] Often, a flight plan may require a stopover (or "technical
stop") at an airport in between the origin and destination points.
The reasons for a stopover may include aircraft range, weather, Air
Traffic Control (ATC) regulation, political regulation, financial,
crew licensing and certification, aircraft equipment, airport
equipment, etc. These reasons may apply to one or more of the
airport, aircraft, crew or passengers, and airspace. However,
conventional flight planning systems do not have the ability to
automatically determine stopover airports based on the various
causes for a stopover, or the user's preferences.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0006] A method and apparatus that automatically determines one or
more stopover airports (or "technical stops") for flight planning
is disclosed. The method may include receiving flight origin,
destination, aircraft identification information, aircrew
identification information, passenger identification information,
and user preference information from a user, receiving weather,
safety-of flight and meteorological information based on at least
the received origin and destination information, retrieving
aircraft information, origin and destination airport information,
potential stopover airport information, aircrew information, and
passenger information from one or more databases based on at least
one of the received flight origin, destination, aircraft
information, aircrew information, passenger information, and user
preference information, automatically selecting one or more
stopover airports based on the received weather, safety-of flight
and meteorological information and the retrieved flight origin,
destination, aircraft information, aircrew information, passenger
information, and user preference information, and outputting the
selected one or more stopover airports to the user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited
and other advantages and features of the disclosure can be
obtained, a more particular description of the disclosure briefly
described above will be rendered by reference to specific
embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.
Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments
of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be
limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described and
explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of
the accompanying drawings in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a flight planning
system in accordance with a possible embodiment of the
disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary stopover
planning unit in accordance with a possible embodiment of the
disclosure; and
[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary automated stopover planning
process in accordance with a possible embodiment of the
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0011] Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be
set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be
obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the
disclosure. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be
realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations
particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other
features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent
from the following description and appended claims, or may be
learned by the practice of the disclosure as set forth herein.
[0012] Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in
detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it
should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes
only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that
other components and configurations may be used without parting
from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
[0013] The disclosure comprises a variety of embodiments, such as a
method and apparatus and other embodiments that relate to the basic
concepts of the disclosure.
[0014] This disclosed embodiments may concern a method and
apparatus for automatically determining the need for a stopover (or
"technical stop" as may be known to one of skill in the art), and
if determined to be necessary, the optimal stops the between the
departure airport and the destination airport. To be considered
optimal, consideration must be given to several aspects of the
flight and how they interact, including aircraft, aircrew,
passengers, airports, and enroute airspace. The various sets of
data required may be stored in such a way as to allow an automated
or semi-automated system to determine the optimal and sub-optimal
(ranked) stopover airports and routings to be used to reach the
ultimate destination.
[0015] An example set of factors to be considered in the analysis:
[0016] Aircraft considerations: Aircraft range, aircraft equipment
(including equipment that is installed, but may not be working),
levels of capability and certification for operation in various
enroute and terminal environments, country of manufacture and
country of registry, etc. [0017] Aircrew considerations: Licensing,
certification, political documentation, criminal record, etc.
[0018] Passenger (and or cargo) considerations: Political
documentation, criminal record, etc. [0019] Airport considerations:
Available fuel, crash and rescue equipment, runway and apron
characteristics, weather and weather reporting, navigational
approaches and departures, landing and departure fees, customs and
immigration, suitable ground handling agents, physical location,
services available at time of arrival and departure, parking space,
area amenities, currency exchange rates, etc. [0020] Enroute
considerations: Airspace fees, navigational capabilities, permits
and other "navigation" fees, political considerations (for example,
some aircraft types are not allowed in certain country's airspace),
time of flight (both "crossing" time and arrival time in the
airspace).
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a flight planning
system 100 in accordance with a possible embodiment of the
disclosure. The flight planning system 100 may include flight plan
generation 110, stopover planning unit 120, stopover planning
information database 130, weather service server 140, and aircraft
safety-of-flight server 150.
[0022] The flight plan generator 110 may be any system that
generates and outputs flight plans to users. The user may input
information to the flight plan generator 110 and the stopover
planning unit 120, including flight origin, destination, aircraft
identification information, aircrew identification information,
passenger identification information, and user preference
information, for example. Note that while the stopover planning
unit 120 is shown to be a separate unit from the flight plan
generator 110, the stopover planning unit 120 may be part of a
flight plan generator or flight plan generating system. In any
case, according at least one of the disclosed embodiments, the
flight plan generator 110 receives input from at least the stopover
planning unit 120, weather service server 140, and aircraft
safety-of-flight server 150.
[0023] Weather service server 140 may represent any server that
provides weather service information and meteorological data and
products, including winds and temperatures aloft, radar, wind
shear, thunderstorms, and turbulence information, SIGMETS, AIRMETS,
etc., for example. Aircraft safety-of-flight server 150 may
represent any server that may provide aviation-related documents,
data and products related to safety-of-flight issues, such as
NOTAMS, aircraft performance data, navigation data, restricted
areas, radio frequency information, enroute charts, approach
plates, FAA notices, restricted airspace information, etc., for
example
[0024] The stopover planning information database 130 may be
coupled to the stopover planning unit 120 and may store a plurality
of aviation-related documents, data, aircraft information, aircrew
information, passenger information, and potential stopover airport
information. Aircraft information may include information
concerning aircraft range, aircraft equipment, aircraft capability,
navigational capabilities, and aircraft certification for operation
in various enroute and terminal environments, country of
manufacture, and country of registry, for example. Aircrew
information may include licensing, certification, political
documentation, and criminal record information, for example.
[0025] Passenger information may include political documentation,
passport information, and criminal record information, for example.
Potential stopover airport information may include available fuel,
crash and rescue equipment, runway and apron characteristics,
weather and weather reporting, navigational approaches and
departures, landing and departure fees, customs and immigration,
number and type of ground handling agents, physical location,
services available at time of arrival and departure, parking space,
area amenities, and currency exchange rates, for example.
[0026] The components of the flight planning system 100 may be
hardwired or wireless and may communicate through any
communications network, which may include the Internet, an
intranet, telephone, wireless telephone, satellite, a VHF radio
network, a SATCOM network, etc.
[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary stopover
planning unit 120 in accordance with a possible embodiment of the
disclosure. As shown, the stopover planning unit 120 may include a
bus 210, a processor 220, a memory 230, a read only memory (ROM)
240, a stopover planning module 250, input devices 260, output
devices 270, and a communication interface 280. Bus 210 may permit
communication among the components of the stopover planning unit
120.
[0028] Processor 220 may include at least one conventional
processor or microprocessor that interprets and executes
instructions. Memory 230 may be a random access memory (RAM) or
another type of dynamic storage device that stores information and
instructions for execution by processor 220. Memory 230 may also
store temporary variables or other intermediate information used
during execution of instructions by processor 220. ROM 240 may
include a conventional ROM device or another type of static storage
device that stores static information and instructions for
processor 220. Memory 230 may also include a storage device which
may include any type of media, such as, for example, magnetic or
optical recording media and its corresponding drive.
[0029] Input devices 260 may include one or more conventional
mechanisms or user interface that permit a user to input
information to the stopover planning unit 120, such as a keyboard,
a mouse, a pen, a voice recognition device, etc. Output devices 270
may include one or more conventional mechanisms that output
information to the user, including a display, a printer, one or
more speakers, or a medium, such as a memory, or a magnetic or
optical disk and a corresponding disk drive.
[0030] Communication interface 280 may include any transceiver-like
mechanism that enables the stopover planning unit 120 to
communicate via a network. For example, communication interface 280
may include a modem, or an Ethernet interface for communicating via
a local area network (LAN). Alternatively, communication interface
280 may include other mechanisms for communicating with other
devices and/or systems via wired, wireless or optical connections.
In some implementations of the stopover planning unit 120,
communication interface 280 may not be included in the exemplary
the stopover planning unit 120 when the stopover planning process
is implemented completely within the stopover planning unit
120.
[0031] The stopover planning unit 120 may perform such functions in
response to processor 220 by executing sequences of instructions
contained in a computer-readable medium, such as, for example,
memory 230, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. Such instructions
may be read into memory 230 from another computer-readable medium,
such as a storage device or from a separate device via
communication interface 280.
[0032] The stopover planning unit 120 illustrated in FIGS. 1-2 and
the related discussion are intended to provide a brief, general
description of a suitable computing environment in which the
disclosure may be implemented. Although not required, the
disclosure will be described, at least in part, in the general
context of computer-executable instructions, such as program
modules, being executed by the stopover planning unit 120, such as
a general purpose computer. Generally, program modules include
routine programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that
perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data
types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that
other embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in network
computing environments with many types of computer system
configurations, including personal computers, hand-held devices,
multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable
consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe
computers, and the like.
[0033] Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing
environments where tasks are performed by local and remote
processing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links,
wireless links, or by a combination thereof through a
communications network. In a distributed computing environment,
program modules may be located in both local and remote memory
storage devices.
[0034] For illustrative purposes, operation of the stopover
planning module 250 and the stopover planning process will be
described below in FIG. 3 in relation to the block diagrams shown
in FIGS. 1-2.
[0035] FIG. 3 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating the stopover
planning process in accordance with a possible embodiment of the
disclosure. The process begins at step 3100 and continues to step
3200 where the stopover planning module 250 may receive flight
origin, destination, aircraft identification information, aircrew
identification information, passenger identification information,
and user preference information from a user.
[0036] At step 3300, the stopover planning module 250 may receive
weather, safety-of flight and meteorological information based on
at least the received origin and destination information through
the communication interface.
[0037] At step 3400, the stopover planning module 250 may retrieve
aircraft information, origin and destination airport information,
potential stopover airport information, aircrew information, and
passenger information from one or more databases based on at least
one of the received flight origin, destination, aircraft
identification information, aircrew information, passenger
information, and user preference information.
[0038] At step 3500, the stopover planning module 250 may
automatically select one or more stopover airports based on the
received weather, safety-of flight and meteorological information
and the retrieved flight origin, destination, aircraft information,
aircrew information, passenger information, and user preference
information. The number of stopover airports needed to complete the
flight may vary based on user preferences, time of the flight
(quiet hours at airports).
[0039] At step 3600, the stopover planning module 250 may output
the selected one or more stopover airports to the user. The process
may then go to step 3700 and end.
[0040] The stopover planning module 250 may prompt the user to
confirm the selection of the one or more of the selected stopover
airports and receive the user's confirmation of the one or more
selected stopover airports. Otherwise, if the user rejects the
selected one or more stopover airport, the stopover planning module
250 may select another one or more stopover airport.
[0041] Alternatively, the stopover planning module 250 may rank one
or more of the selected stopover airports in a list based on the
received weather, safety-of flight and meteorological information
and the retrieved flight origin, destination, aircraft
identification information, aircrew information, passenger
information, and user preference information, present the ranked
list to the user, prompt the user to select one or more stopover
airports from the presented list, receive the user's selection of
the one or more selected stopover airports from the presented list,
and output a flight plan that includes the user's selected one or
more selected stopover airports.
[0042] Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure may
also include computer-readable media for carrying or having
computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon.
Such computer-readable media can be any available media that can be
accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way
of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can
comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,
magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any
other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program
code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data
structures. When information is transferred or provided over a
network or another communications connection (either hardwired,
wireless, or combination thereof to a computer, the computer
properly views the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus,
any such connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium.
Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope
of the computer-readable media.
[0043] Although the above description may contain specific details,
they should not be construed as limiting the claims in any way.
Other configurations of the described embodiments of the disclosure
are part of the scope of this disclosure. For example, the
principles of the disclosure may be applied to each individual user
where each user may individually deploy such a system. This enables
each user to utilize the benefits of the disclosure even if any one
of the large number of possible applications do not need the
functionality described herein. In other words, there may be
multiple instances of the components of the disclosed embodiments
each processing the content in various possible ways. It does not
necessarily need to be one system used by all end users.
Accordingly, the appended claims and their legal equivalents should
only define the disclosure, rather than any specific examples
given.
* * * * *